Limón And Sarapiquí On Yellow
Alert
Typical of the season, the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE)
has declared a "yellow" alert for the Caribbean areas of Limón and
Sarapiquí, Heredia, following days of heavy rain and strong winds.
While the rest of the country is enjoying the "summer" or "dry"
season, the Caribbean coast and northern zone are in full swing of
the rainy season.
The bad weather on the east coast has also affected the other
regions, like bringing cold winds and clouds in the Central Valley,
which according to the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) -
national weather service - is expected to last into the weekend.
The emergency is based on the rising waters of the rivers Chirripó,
Madre de Dios, Barbilla and Reventazón, which occasionally
overflowed their banks, flooding banana plantations in Siquirres,
Matina and Limón centre.
As a precautionary move, the CNE has moved a number of families in
the flood prone areas to provisional shelters in higher ground.
The strong winds have also caused damage by falling trees, breaking
power cables and in some cases raised tin roofs in places like Cachí
and Cervantes (Cartago), Zarcero, in Alajuela, and barrios Morazán
and Durán Picado in San Isidro de El General, San José.
The first victim of the fould weather is 61 year old Rafael Castillo
Cruz, a police officer in Siquirres, who drowned by a strong
currents of the Peje river.
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